Mitch Keller Could Be Pirates Top Trade Piece
With multiple needs and a history of being cheap when it comes to spending money to improve the team in free agency, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have to get creative about improving their team this offseason.
One of the avenues the Pirates could take is using their depth at one position to improve other areas of need. If that's the path Pittsburgh chooses to take, using its pitching to make room for a bat or two could be its best use of assets to position the team to take the next step in 2025.
Mitch Keller could be the pitcher who's on the outside looking in if the Pirates decide to trade one of their starters. Keller, 28, signed a five-year $77 million deal before this season and is set to see a sizable uptick in his pay next season. After making $5.85 million this season, his salary is set to jump to $15.41 in 2025 and steadily increase for the duration of his contract, per Spotrac.
Keller made 31 starts and finished the year 11-12 with a 4.25 ERA over 178 innings pitched this season. The veteran right-hander got off to a hot start, going 10-5 with a 3.46 ERA before the All-Star break but struggled mightily afterward, going 1-7 with a 5.65 ERA.
Keller's lone win post-All-Star break came on Aug. 20 against the Texas Rangers when he pitched seven shutout innings, allowed three hits, and struck out nine batters. That outing was one of just teo quality starts he made through August and September.
Paul Skenes dazzled with his historic rookie season and Jared Jones flashed plenty of promise in his first season in the big leagues before missing a month due to an oblique injury. Luis Ortiz also showed he could be a mainstay in the starting rotation after going 4-4 with a 3.22 ERA in his 15 starts this season.
The Pirates' farm system also has plenty of quality arms. Three of their five prospects in the top 100 by MLB Pipeline are starting pitchers that reached Triple-A this season. Bubba Chandler is the Pirates' top-ranked prospect and No. 38 in the top 100. Across seven starts in Triple-A, he went 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA in 2024.
With Skenes and Jones in tow, the emergence of Ortiz and a farm system stocked with pitching that's ready for the big leagues, Keller may have to be the odd man out if the Pirates are planning to improve their team next season. The money saved after potentially trading Keller could go toward a solid bat that could make a big difference for an offense that was among the league's worst in 2024.
If the Pirates are ever going to turn things around, they need to improve their offense. Given their depth in the starting rotation both in the big leagues and waiting in the wings in the minor leagues, trading a proven arm to make room for a proven bat should be among the options they ponder to better set their team up for success in 2025.
